Configurable OBD isolation

ABSTRACT

An on-vehicle device for a driver monitoring system can be configured to be isolated from the vehicle bus while connected to the vehicle&#39;s OBD port. In a fully-isolated mode, the device only receives power and ground from the vehicle&#39;s OBD port and there is no other communication sent or received from the vehicle bus. In a passive mode, the device can obtain some information from the vehicle bus but does not request any information on the vehicle bus. The device may be undetectable on the vehicle bus. Optionally, the device receives commands via a communication interface to be switched among the three modes: fully active mode, fully isolated mode and passive mode. The commands may come from a server and may be communicated over the internet or over a cell network to a communication module on the device.

BACKGROUND

Many vehicle telematics devices include modules that connect to thevehicle data bus on the vehicles. Lots of information is available tothe telematics module that connects to the vehicle bus. However, somevehicle systems react negatively to third party devices on the vehiclebus.

SUMMARY

An on-vehicle device for a driver monitoring system can be configured tobe isolated from the vehicle bus while connected to the vehicle's OBDport. In a fully-isolated mode, the device only receives power andground from the vehicle's OBD port and there is no other communicationsent or received from the vehicle bus. In a passive mode, the device canobtain some information from the vehicle bus but does not request anyinformation on the vehicle bus. The device may be undetectable on thevehicle bus.

Optionally, the device receives commands via a communication interfaceto be switched among the three modes: fully active mode, fully isolatedmode and passive mode. The commands may come from a server and may becommunicated over the internet or over a cell network to a communicationmodule on the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a driver monitoring system 10 according to oneembodiment of the present invention. A motor vehicle 11 includes aplurality of data gathering devices that communicate information to atelematics device 12 installed within the vehicle 11. The example datagathering devices include a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver14, a three-axis accelerometer 16, a gyroscope 18 and an electroniccompass 20, which could be housed within the device 12 (along with aprocessor and suitable electronic storage, etc. and suitably programmedto perform the functions described herein). As appreciated, other datamonitoring systems could be utilized within the contemplation of thisinvention. Data may also be collected by an onboard diagnostic interface(OBD) 22 that connects to an OBD port 40 that provides data from thevehicle bus 42. This data on the vehicle bus 42 is indicative of vehicleengine operating parameters such as vehicle speed, engine speed,temperature, fuel consumption (or electricity consumption), engine idletime, car diagnostics (from OBD) and other information that is relatedto mechanical operation of the vehicle. Moreover, any other data that isavailable to the vehicle could also be communicated to the device 12 forgathering and compilation of the operation summaries of interest incategorizing the overall operation of the vehicle. Not all of thesensors mentioned here are necessary, however, as they are only listedas examples. The GPS receiver 14 may be sufficient by itself.

The device 12 may also include a communication module 24 (such as cellphone, satellite, wi-fi, etc.) that provides a connection to a wide-areanetwork (such as the internet). Alternatively, the communication module24 may connect to a wide-area network (such as the internet) via auser's cell phone 26 or other device providing communication.

The in vehicle appliance 12 gathers data from the various sensorsmounted within the vehicle 11 and stores that data. The in vehicleappliance 12 transmits this data (or summaries or analyses thereof) as atransmission signal through a wireless network to a server 30 (alsohaving at least one processor and suitable electronic storage andsuitably programmed to perform the functions described herein). Theserver 30 utilizes the received data to categorize vehicle operatingconditions in order to determine or track vehicle use. This data can beutilized for tracking and determining driver behavior, insurancepremiums for the motor vehicle, tracking data utilized to determineproper operation of the vehicle and other information that may providevalue such as alerting a maintenance depot or service center when aspecific vehicle is in need of such maintenance. Driving events anddriver behavior are recorded by the server 30, such as fuel and/orelectricity consumption, speed, driver behavior (acceleration, speed,etc.), distance driven and/or time spent in certain insurance-risk codedgeographic areas. The on-board appliance 12 may collect and transmit tothe server 30 (among other things mentioned herein): Speed,Acceleration, Distance, Fuel consumption, Engine Idle time, Cardiagnostics, Location of vehicle, Engine emissions, etc.

The server 30 includes a plurality of profiles 32, each associated witha vehicle 11 (or alternatively, with a user). Among other things, theprofiles 32 each contain information about the vehicle 11 (or user)including some or all of the gathered data (or summaries thereof). Someor all of the data (or summaries thereof) may be accessible to the uservia a computer 34 over a wide area network (such as the internet) via apolicyholder portal, such as fuel efficiency, environmental issues,location, maintenance, etc. The user can also customize some aspects ofthe profile 32.

It should be noted that the server 30 may be numerous physical and/orvirtual servers at multiple locations. The server 30 may collect datafrom devices 12 from many different vehicles 11 associated with a manydifferent insurance companies. Each insurance company (or otheradministrator) may configure parameters only for their own users. Theserver 30 permits the administrator of each insurance company to accessonly data for their policyholders. The server 30 permits eachpolicyholder to access only his own profile and receive informationbased upon only his own profile.

The server 30 may not only reside in traditional physical or virtualservers, but may also coexist with the on-board appliance, or may residewithin a mobile device. In scenarios where the server 30 is distributed,all or a subset of relevant information may be synchronized betweentrusted nodes for the purposes of aggregate statistics, trends, andgeo-spatial references (proximity to key locations, groups of driverswith similar driving routes).

The on-board appliance 12 has the ability to isolate the OBD diagnosticinterface 22 from the OBD port 40 and vehicle communication bus 42. Whenthis feature is enabled, all communication between the device 12 and thevehicle 11 is suppressed. This feature is configurable such that adefault state can be set before shipment. Further, the isolation of theOBD diagnostic interface 22 of the device 12 can be remotely activatedand deactivated while in the field via commands sent from server 30 andreceived by the device 12 over communication module 24.

The isolated mode is implemented in either of two ways: a fully-isolatedmode and a passive-only mode.

In the fully-isolated mode, the device 12 electrically isolates thedevice's OBD interface 22 from vehicle's OBD diagnostic port 40, suchthat the device 12 only uses power and ground from the Diagnostic LinkConnector (DLC). When the OBD interface 22 is disabled (fully isolated),absolutely no communication between the vehicle 11 and device 12 is tobe initiated or maintained. When the OBD diagnostic interface 22 isdisabled, all communication including any manufacturer proprietarymessaging and communication will be suppressed. The activity state ofthe OBD interface 22 may be indicated in the journey/trip datatransferred over the air to the server 30. When the OBD interface 22 isdisabled, trip delineation is still required, and the device 12 usesother cues including vehicle battery voltage patterns (detection ofignition state—starting the vehicle, vehicle running, and vehicle off),time-based heuristics and accelerometer triggers.

In passive-only mode, the device 12 may also receive power and groundfrom the OBD port 40. In passive-only mode, the device 12 receives datapassively from the OBD port 40 and vehicle bus 42, such as by “sniffing”data on the bus 42. In this way, the device 12 receives from the vehiclebus 42 data indicative of vehicle engine operating parameters such asvehicle speed, engine speed, temperature, fuel consumption (orelectricity consumption), engine idle time, car diagnostics (from OBD)and other information that is related to mechanical operation of thevehicle. Again, the device 12 is undetectable by other devices on thevehicle bus 42. The device 12 does not communicate actively on thevehicle bus 42.

The OBD interface 22 can be enabled and disabled (i.e. switched betweenisolated (including passive and fully-isolated) and non-isolated)remotely, such as through existing communication interfaces (such ascommunication module 24). Enabling and disabling the OBD interface 22preferably coincides with the trip start/end. The device 12 preferablydoes not enable or disable the OBD interface 22 during a trip. If anenable or disable request is received over the air (i.e. a configurationupdate), it should go into effect on the next trip.

The device 12 may be configured to activate and deactivate the isolation(and switch between fully-isolated and passive) upon receipt of a secureSMS trigger. A SMS message instructs the device 12 to enable or disablethe OBD interface 22. A command to query the status of the OBD interface22 is also configured.

Device power management features remains unchanged when the device's OBDdiagnostic interface 22 is disabled. The device 12 continues to enterall appropriate low power modes regardless of whether communication withthe vehicle 11 is enabled or disabled.

An LED on the device 12 may indicate that the OBD interface 22 has beendisabled for in-field diagnostic purposes.

The device 12 supports an OBD protocol/modulation detection mechanism.The OBD protocol/modulation detection procedure runs whenever the OBDinterface 22 is enabled.

The device 12 maintains all current regulatory and compliance statuses.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes andjurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are consideredto represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it shouldbe noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than asspecifically illustrated and described without departing from its spiritor scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. An on-board device for a vehicle monitoringsystem comprising: an OBD interface for connecting to an OBD port of avehicle; and a processor programmed to accumulate data received via theOBD interface, the processor further programmed to switch the OBDinterface from a first mode to a second mode, wherein in the first modethe OBD interface can request and receive data via a vehicle data busconnected to the OBD interface, wherein in the second mode the OBDinterface does not request or send any data on the vehicle data bus,wherein in the second mode the OBD interface is capable of receivingdata on the vehicle data bus.
 2. An on-board device for a vehiclemonitoring system comprising: an OBD interface for connecting to anon-board diagnostic (OBD) port of a vehicle; and a processor programmedto accumulate data received via the OBD interface, the processor furtherprogrammed to switch the OBD interface from a first mode to a secondmode, wherein in the first mode the OBD interface can request andreceive data via a vehicle data bus connected to the OBD interface,wherein in the second mode the OBD interface does not request or sendany data on the vehicle data bus, wherein in the second mode the OBDinterface is capable of receiving data on the vehicle data bus, whereinin the second mode the OBD interface is capable of receiving data on thevehicle data bus by sniffing data on the vehicle data bus.
 3. The deviceof claim 2 wherein in the second mode the OBD interface is undetectablevia the vehicle data bus.
 4. An on-board device for a vehicle monitoringsystem comprising: an OBD interface for connecting to an on-boarddiagnostic (OBD) port of a vehicle; and a processor programmed toaccumulate data received via the OBD interface, the processor furtherprogrammed to switch the OBD interface from a first mode to a secondmode, wherein in the first mode the OBD interface can request andreceive data via a vehicle data bus connected to the OBD interface,wherein in the second mode the OBD interface does not request or sendany data on the vehicle data bus, wherein in the second mode the devicemonitors power on the OBD port of the vehicle to detect trip beginningand trip ending.
 5. The device of claim 4 wherein the processor isprogrammed to effectuate a command to change modes only after an end ofa trip.
 6. An on-board device for a vehicle monitoring systemcomprising: an OBD interface for connecting to an on-board diagnostic(OBD) port of a vehicle; and a processor programmed to accumulate datareceived via the OBD interface, the processor further programmed toswitch the OBD interface from a first mode to a second mode, wherein inthe first mode the OBD interface can request and receive data via avehicle data bus connected to the OBD interface, wherein in the secondmode the OBD interface does not request or send any data on the vehicledata bus, wherein the processor is programmed to effectuate a command tochange modes only after an end of a trip.
 7. The device of claim 6wherein the processor is programmed to switch the OBD interface betweenthe first mode and the second mode based upon an SMS message.
 8. Thedevice of claim 7 wherein in the second mode the OBD interface onlyreceives power and ground via the OBD port of the vehicle.
 9. The deviceof claim 6 wherein in the second mode the OBD interface only receivespower and ground via the OBD port of the vehicle.
 10. The device ofclaim 6 wherein the OBD interface receives data indicative of vehicleengine operating parameters on the vehicle data bus in the second mode.11. The device of claim 10 wherein the OBD interface receives vehiclespeed on the vehicle data bus in the second mode.
 12. The device ofclaim 1 wherein the OBD interface receives data indicative of vehicleengine operating parameters on the vehicle data bus in the second mode.13. The device of claim 12 wherein the OBD interface receives vehiclespeed on the vehicle data bus in the second mode.
 14. The device ofclaim 2 wherein the OBD interface receives data indicative of vehicleengine operating parameters on the vehicle data bus in the second mode.15. The device of claim 14 wherein the OBD interface receives vehiclespeed on the vehicle data bus in the second mode.
 16. The device ofclaim 4 wherein in the second mode the OBD interface only receives powerand ground via the OBD port of the vehicle.
 17. The device of claim 4wherein the OBD interface receives data indicative of vehicle engineoperating parameters on the vehicle data bus in the second mode.
 18. Thedevice of claim 17 wherein the OBD interface receives vehicle speed onthe vehicle data bus in the second mode.
 19. The device of claim 5wherein the OBD interface receives vehicle speed on the vehicle data busin the second mode.